Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson reportedly handed in his resignation yesterday from the Gaming Board following the Public outrage over a fist fight between himself and Mount Moriah MP Keod Smith.
The Tribune has learned that a meeting of the Gaming Board, originally scheduled for today, was cancelled by Mr Gibson, citing that he had tendered his resignation.
Speaking with informed sources within the government, this move is not at all unexpected as it was being speculated on Sunday night as a possibility to help quell the increasing calls for action from Prime Minister Perry Christie.
However, The Tribune could not confirm the additional reports that Mr Smith, although retaining his Ambassador of the Environment status, was relieved of his affiliation with the Ministry of Energy and the Environment.
Yesterday an informal polling done on Love 97 by talk show host Wendell Jones revealed the overwhelming opinion that some form of disciplinary action is needed following the fight between the two MPs.
While some callers voiced their belief that the matter should be “buried”, others expressed their disappointment in both representatives, appealing for them to either be suspended, resign, or be fired. “Mr Jones, if you work for the government of the Bahamas and you are caught fighting that is automatic dismissal. So what makes them any different?” one caller asked.
“I find it very interesting that anyone can justify what these two MPs have done in the House,” another caller said. “It is just unforgivable. I really think it is a sad day when we as Bahamians allow people to go so out of control in such responsible conditions. And I should not think that this would be up for discussion. It should be their resignations immediately, and I can’t see any other country allowing something like this to happen,” she said.
Mr Jones himself commented that he had not witnessed two men fighting in public in “decades.”
“Let me tell you this, I have not seen grown men fighting in about 30 years. I have been to boxing matches, and I have seen it on television. But in terms of witnessing people fighting – grown men fighting -I haven’t seen that in decades,” Mr Jones said.
At the final polling, the callers were registered with 21 persons saying that the “hatchet should be buried” between the two men with them receiving no disciplinary punishment.
[Bahamas B2B Editor’s Note: ļ¾ These are obviously the corrupt, criminally-minded PLPs who put party loyalty above allegiance to the nation.]
However, of the 29 persons who voted for some form of disciplinary action there were eight persons asking for them to be suspended, five persons calling for them to be fired, and 16 persons appealing for them to resign.
“I think that those two gentlemen should either be fired or asked to resign,” said another angry caller. “Because as far as I am concerned they are MPs and they should be looked at on a different level from the average Bahamian citizen. They should act on a different level from the average Bahamian citizen, and they should be punished on a different level from the average Bahamian citizen. I think they should either be fired, or made to resign.”
By PAUL TURNGIUEST Tribune Staff Reporter
